Teardrops
by Fishey
Summary: Tenten wakes up suddenly and finds herself naked in Neji's apartment...again. Sadly, this is not a first for her, due to a certain secretive agreement, satisfactory for Neji, but torturing for Tenten. What is happening? Find out! Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Morning. The sun's blazing rays shined through the open window of a small and bare apartment. Furniture filled the room in the form of a bed, a dresser and a sitting chair and table. However, they appeared unused and for appearance's sake.

Tenten woke with a start, just as if she had a bad dream. It was a strange phenomenon, since she did not remember dreaming of anything frightening. However, her reality was in fact quite scary. Where was she? What happened to her last night? Where were all her clothes?

Suddenly, Tenten's eyes widened as she realized where she was, and what had happened. A sense of panic and pain filled her heart and throat as she recalled the incidents of the night before. And of course, as if on cue, Neji immerged from the washroom, shirtless and pantless. He stared at her, bored.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked, icily.

His voice made Tenten cringe. It wasn't her fault she was here in the first place! Had he not...no. It was best not to blame anyone, especially in such situations. Oh, but it was oh-so difficult to do so when the one at fault was so vulgar, so arrogant, and so shirtless!

"Well?" pressed Neji. He leaned against a wall and crossed his arms. Then, a smirk surfaced on his face. "Or is it that you want more?"

Tenten's face flushed scarlet as he spoke those words. Unashamed, she through the blankets from her bare body and jumped out of the bed. Quickly, she walked around the room, picking her clothes one by one, well aware of the scrutinizing eyes on her backside.

"If you're going to shower, you'd better do it now, or we'll be late." Stated Neji. His grin widened as he spoke. He knew oh so well her anger spectrum. And he simply loved to push her to her limit.

"Shut up, Neji! I hate you!" yelled Tenten as she moved towards the washroom.

At that instant, the atmosphere changed completely. In seconds, Neji had Tenten pinned to the wall, his hand on her neck, his mouth inches away from hers.

"Don't forget our agreement, Tenten. You'd best not forget."

And with that, Neji let her drop back down. Quickly, Neji pulled a random shirt from a drawer of his dresser and walked out the apartment, placing it over his head as he walked. The door slammed before Tenten was able to breathe once more.

"Geez, what's got into him?" asked Tenten, annoyed. "It's not like I lied."

Slowly, Tenten picked up the remaining clothes from the floor and walked into the washroom, preparing to take a shower.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Teardrops

Chapter 2:

Tenten ran to the meeting point as fast as she could. She was going to be late and she was absolutely, under no circumstances, going to do the 500 laps around the village that entailed such lack of punctuality. Tenten ran through the village, jumping over passerbies as they came. When she passed the Yamanaka flower shop, she quickly jumped on top of a railing and used it as a footstool to jump over the store. There, she passed through the forest behind the store and arrived in a small clearing, luckily, before her sensei and Lee had time to arrive.

"Safe." She breathed.

"Oh, but you are definitely late." Came a voice from behind.

Tenten rolled her eyes and turned to face Neji. He was leaning against a tree, a broad grin on his face.

"Who cares? I arrived before sensei, so I'm safe." She stated, clearly annoyed.

"Gai-sensei and Lee won't be coming. The meeting today was cancelled. We all received a letter from Gai-sensei, but since you were at my place last night, you failed to read it."

Tenten's eyes widened as she realized the cruel tricked that had been played on her. Neji chuckled a little, which made her cringe even more. How could she have ever fallen in love with him to begin with? Well, at least she didn't anymore...

Tenten turned to leave when the Hyuuga approached her swiftly. In a fraction of a second he was standing behind her, his arm around her waist.

"Don't go now. There's something that I want from you." He said, a slight slurr in his voice.

Tenten shivered at the sound of his voice. She knew what it meant, and she was in no hurry to give it. A younger version of her flashed into her mind.

_Tenten, twelve years old, was sitting on a swing, counting the petals on a flower. She was smiling and giggling with every count._

"_Tomorrow, he'll be nice to me. Tomorrow, he won't. Tomorrow, he'll smile at me. Tomorrow, he won't. Tomorrow, he'll tell me he likes me. Tomorrow, he won't. Tomorrow, he'll love me. Tomorrow, he...he'll love me!" exclaimed Tenten, laughing. She knew those tricks never worked, but it was always fun to do!_

"_Tomorrow, I won't." Came a voice from behind her._

_Tenten turned to face Neji, shocked at his coming._

"_It's not you that I love!" yelled Tenten, while blusing furiously at being caught in such a game._

"_Yes it is." Said Neji, calmly._

"_Okay, it is." Replied Tenten. She couldn't lie for her life! "Well, if you know it, then you might as well tell me you don't love me back! That way, I'll get on with it and leave you alone!" Tenten made a pouty face and tried very hard to suppress the urge to cry. "Well? Say it already!"_

"_I won't do that." Replied Neji, coolly. "I'm not going to tell you I don't love you, because I want you to love me more." Suddenly, a smirk appeared on Neji's face. "This is our agreement, ok?"_

Tenten's memory faded as her eyes filled with tears. No matter how cruel that agreement was, it worked. Every day, she kept sitting, waiting, wishing he would tell her he loved her. And every day, he wouldn't. After awhile, she prayed he'd tell her he hated her. But that never happened, either. The truth was, by refusing to state his feelings towards her, Neji was instilling unending hope in Tenten's heart...that one day maybe he'd fall in love with her.

But as the years went by, and they turned to teenager-hood, Neji began to evoke Tenten to perform certain things with him. Sometimes, it was mutual (at the beginning), and sometimes, by force (now).

Seven years later, Tenten, nineteen, and Neji, twenty, Tenten couldn't take it anymore. She had had her heart broken too many times. Her unending hope was fading and easier to suppress. Her nights, when without Neji, were sleepless, and her mind a blur. The missions she went on were successful, but she found much less pleasure in them.

"I don't want to do it, Neji." Said Tenten, as she returned to reality.

Neji was quiet momentarily. Sometimes, it was certain, he had to pin Tenten down to have his way, but never did she speak up to him before. In fact, in all cases, he was sure Tenten simply preferred to fight beforehand, which was why he'd never lose. He never imagined she was fighting to actually have him stop.

"You don't want to do it." Neji repeated.

"That's right. I'm tired of our "agreement". I'm tired of doing everything you want to do, and nothing else. You know, I've been asked out several times, especially in these passed months, and I've blown them all away for you, in hope of you. But I don't think I'm going to do that anymore. You don't love me, and that's all."

Neji's grasp around Tenten loosened slightly, and Tenten was able to run away. But the teardrops she left on the clearing soil did not escape Neji's firm watch.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Teardrops

Chapter 3:

Neji stood alone in the clearing. His exposure was as usual, calm and composed. However, inside, his mind was swirling. Could she have really meant what she said?

Neji turned around the clearing, inspecting every tree, every rock, every speck of dirt with his byakugan, trying to find any sign of foul play. Perhaps, he thought, someone was tricking him. Perhaps he was caught in some kind of ninjutsu and someone was playing with him behind the scenes.

All of these thoughts swirled in his mind, as he stood in the clearing. However, he already knew, despite his attempts at convincing himself otherwise, that what had occurred was no trick. Tenten had truly been here moments ago, and she had truly meant those words. She was moving on.

Suddenly, Neji began to feel incredible pain in his chest. He looked and felt for a weapon wound, but there was none. No, Neji was bleeding on the inside.

But why should he care if she didn't love him? He never responded to her feelings, so it was only a matter of time before she would let him go. In fact, he should feel relieved to no longer have a teammate that was in love with him. He wouldn't have to worry for her pouting, or anger or vengeance towards him if, in a "small mishap", he were to treat her as a teammate, and not a lover. Not that Tenten had ever been pouty, or angry of vengeful towards him before...

Neji cringed his teeth as he thought of Tenten. She was no longer in love him, and he shouldn't care. With that thought in mind, Neji left the clearing and went to his favourite scenery amongst the trees to train.

Tenten on the other hand had been running for minutes now. When she was certain she was safely away, she slowed her pace and lowered her head. Tears were running freely down her face and it did not make her happy. She was in the middle of the village now and she prayed for no one she knew to notice her. None of her friends had ever seen her cry before, and she did not want it to start now. Carefully, Tenten swiftly avoided familiar gazes and stealthily made her way to her own apartment, carefully locking the door behind her. Her apartment was rather ordinary. She had a small table and chairs, a kitchen with pictures of friends on her fridge, a few plants here and there an ordinary washroom and an ordinary bedroom. In fact, Tenten rarely stayed in her apartment long. She was always on the go, or in a certain other person't apartment.

'Neji didn't come after me.' Thought Tenten 'It's just as well. I knew he never cared.'

Tenten slowly ambled to her washroom to clean her face. She was in no mood for swollen eyes today. Afterwards, she would probably leave again and visit her friends. They had told her they would be having a picnic today. Originally, she had declined, thinking she would be on a mission. But since she was free (and she was determined not to let her incident with Neji ruin her next few months) she figured she might make an appearance. Her friends were fun, in any case.

Tenten got changed from her mission clothes and instead put on a light summer dress. Usually, her hair was always in buns, but in this case, she figured she might let them loose. Her hair had been ultimately misplaced after all and she didn't really feel like tying them back together. Besides, she didn't have anything to lose. Tenten removed the hair pins from her head and let her wavy brown hair swirl down. She left the apartment soon after.

Ino and Choji had already spread the food on blankets and were already munching on a few carrots when they spotted Tenten walking towards them.

"Tenten, is that you? Wow, you look so beautiful today! Hey, aren't you supposed to be on a mission? Is this your mission outfit? You should totally look like that every day!" exclaimed Ino as she ran to hug her friend.

"Our mission was cancelled today, yosh! So we will be able to accept your glorious invitation to a delicious picnic in the springtime of our youth!" yelled Lee from behind Tenten. He had just arrived too.

Soon afterwards, Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino appeared. Everyone sat down and laughed and talked. It felt really good to be able to spend the afternoon amongst friends.

"You know, I love ramen! It's the most delicious thing!" exclaimed Naruto as he gobbled down another bowl.

"As long as you do not eat my BBQ pork, I will be happy." Munched Choji.

"This is somewhat troublesome." Groaned Shikamaru, although really suppressing a grin.

Hinata giggled at the sight of a gobbling Naruto, and Kiba simply laughed as he fed Akamaru a treat. All in all, watching everyone have fun made Tenten a lot calmer and grateful of her decision.

During the afternoon, a two jounin boys (Tahki and Leo) arrived and began to talk to the group.

"So you're all jounins too? So are we!" exclaimed Naruto, fully proud that the jounins with them were in fact two full years older than he. "Oh, except for Tenten and Lee, who are already ANBU."

One of the jounins boys turned to Tenten and smiled radiantly. He really was quite attractive. He had sandy brown hair that spiked in all directions. His eyes were deep blue and of what appeared to be a smiling nature. "I presume you are Tenten. My name is Tahki. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Tenten smiled a little and looked away. She didn't feel like speaking at the moment, she only wanted to observe and laugh with others. However, this seemed to render curious Tahki and he continued to question Tenten and try to get to know her better.

"You best save it." said Ino to Tahki. "She's been taken for awhile now."

"Aah" Tenten began to protest, but stopped in midsentence. On the one hand, she did not want her friends misunderstanding her relationship with Neji, but on the other, Tahki thinking she had a boyfriend would make him uninterested, and he would perhaps stop asking her so many questions about herself. As an ANBU member, she learned to keep her personality away from society, omitting, of course, her friends and family members.

In the end, Tenten decided it was best to tell the truth. In any case, Tahki did not seem like a bad person, and if she told him to leave her alone, surely he would back off.

"No, I am not dating anyone at the moment, but I am not looking for someone, either." Said Tenten. She smiled warmly in order to seem friendly.

"Oh no," smirked Tahki in return (rendering Tenten rather uneasy) "this just makes me want to get to know you even more."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Teardrops

Chapter 4:

The group sat silently around the picnic, as it watched in shock the birth of a new couple.

Tenten laughed nervously as Tahki smiled in her direction.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" asked Tahki, breaking the silence.

"Well...yeah." replied Tenten. Seven years later, and she still was unable to lie properly.

"That's adorable." Replied Tahki, and his smile widened. "I think you're adorable."

Tenten's eyes widened. She suddenly became very aware of Tahki and how close he was to her.

Suddenly, Shikamaru coughed slightly, shattering the moment and instilling a new, awkward one.

"Shikamaru! Look what you did! They're never gonna kiss now!" cried Ino.

"It'd be troublesome if they did kiss with all of us around, anyway." Replied Shika. "Listen, the food was...edible, so thanks for this." With that said, Shika stood to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" asked Tenten, a little desperately.

"Brilliant move, Shika! We'll give these two some privacy!" yelled Ino.

In moments, the food was packed and the group stood to leave.

"Hey, wait you guys!" protested Tenten. "Don't go!" She was getting more and more desperate.

"Good for you, Tenten! Enjoy the springtime of your youth!" Lee pulled his classic 'Nice-guy pose' and ran away.

"I want details when we meet up later!" whispered Ino, and she left as well.

Before Tenten could do or say anything else, her friends had disbanded and she was left alone with Tahki.

"...I should get going, too." Began Tenten.

"You don't have to go yet, do you? I was hoping to get to know you a little better."

Tenten blushed a little, but nevertheless, made a motion to stand. However, a thought crossed her mind and rather than running away, Tenten turned to Tahki, her brown eyes piercing into his blue ones.

"Just a question, Tahki." She began "Why are you so interested in me, anyways?"

Tahki blinked, a little surprised.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked "You're a beautiful, talented girl. Who wouldn't be interested in you?"

Neji's face flashed through Tenten's mind and pain thumped into her chest. 'Neji isn't.' She thought, sadly...though it seemed she was often sad these days. And yet, here was this cute, funny guy who seemed genuinely interested in her. Why was she so sad? She shouldn't be, anymore.

Tenten smiled gently and looked at her surroundings. The sun was shining brightly, vivifying the colours of the trees, the grass, the earth. The sky was a perfect baby blue, softening the white of the clouds. It was such a beautiful day, but Tenten hadn't noticed any of it...until now. She turned to Tahki and smiled, making him blush a little for the first time.

Gently, Tahki placed a hand over Tenten's body and onto the ground on her opposite side. He leaned towards her and Tenten's lower lip quivered. She closed her eyes.

Tahki's lips met hers in a gentle embrace. It was soft, sweet, caring; nothing Tenten had ever felt before. Well, in her defence, Neji was the only one she had ever kissed, and he would never show a caring side to her. For her, cold and dominant were the only things of which she knew.

Unconsciously, Tenten lifted her hand and stroked the back of Tahki's head, passing her fingers in his hair. When their lips separated, she smiled genuinely for the first time in months.

Tahki and Tenten spent the day together. They talked and laughed. When the sun had set over the houses of the village, he walked her home.

"Will I see you on Saturday, then?" asked Tahki once they reached the front door.

"I'll be on a mission, actually." Replied Tenten "But I'll be back on Sunday."

"It's a date, then."

Tahki grinned, making Tenten's heart thumb suddenly. Waving slightly, Tenten entered her apartment and closed the door behind her. She bit her lower lip and smiled to herself. She was moving on...

Suddenly, from the corner of her apartment, Tenten heard a small scoff.

"Who was he?" asked a familiar, authoritative voice.

Tenten jumped as soon as she heard it.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, but Neji simply ignored her.

"I had no idea you were such a lewd woman, Tenten."

"Shut up! This is none of your business. In fact, get the hell out of my house!" Tenten screamed, but her words had no impact on the trained nin.

"Have you forgotten our 'agreement'?" asked Neji.

"I don't care about that anymore. I already told you! I'm tired of it."

"That doesn't excuse you. You see, the 'agreement' can only be terminated when I say it is."

Tenten began to protest, but Neji was too quick. In seconds, he had Tenten pushed to a wall, a hand covering her mouth.

Now the he had her in a tight bind, Neji took his time. Slowly, his face moved to the hook of her neck. Tenten's heart was thumping crazily. What was going on?

"His scent..." began Neji "is on you. Did you let him kiss you?"

Neji looked into Tenten's eyes. Though he did not let her speak, he could tell the answer just by looking. A small pang hit Neji in the chest as he realized what had happened between the two. Inexplicably, Neji's anger began to rise.

"I'm disappointed in you, Tenten. To be so generous with every random guy who tells you you're cute. Well, maybe you can't help it, knowing you yourself will never be a beauty like Haruno or Yamanaka. Are you trying to make yourself feel better? Pathetic."

Tenten's heart cracked a little. She seriously struggled to get free. She wanted to leave, she wanted to run away. She wanted to push Neji away, to jump out the window and run. So why couldn't she? Why was Neji so freakishly strong? God, why couldn't she free herself?

Slowly, Neji's hand, initially blocking her mouth, began trailing down from her face to her neck.

"Your mouth is dirty." He said "We'll have to clean it."

"Neji-" began Tenten, but she had no time to finish.

Neji's lips overtook hers with force and desire. In an instant, he had his tongue interlocking with hers, creating a battle deep in her mouth. His spare hand trickled passed her neck to lower areas.

Tenten, who had been struggling moments before, closed her eyes in despair. Irregardless of the situation or circumstances, when Neji wanted something, he always had his way. Why would this time be any better?

Tenten gave up. There was no chasing after him, there was no running away. There certainly was no stopping him. Why bother anymore?

Teardrops rolled down her face as she loosened her struggles. They rolled down her cheeks, dropping down her neck and chin.


End file.
